During the 17th and 18th centuries, most settlers hugged the eastern coastal zones of the United States. The settlers were primarily northwestern European and their occupations centered around the sea. The ability to ship and receive shipments through trade with Europe and Caribbean settlements were important to survival. Some of the country's largest cities in the 21st century began along those early coastal land masses centuries ago.
As the population grew, and the need for land and agriculture expanded, settlers fanned out from the coastal areas. The Dutch moved to inland New York up the Hudson River, inland land grants were provided to militia members after the Revolutionary War and French communities sprung up along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Midwestern regions were settled in the latter 18th and early 19th centuries, primarily along large rivers such as the Ohio and the Great Lakes, as the steamships and railroads opened up new opportunities.
In the mid-1800s, the promise of gold and precious mineral beyond the Mississippi to the western coast of the continent, drew settlers. Because of poor soil, rugged terrain and harsh climates, settlements throughout the western region were sparse and clustered. American Indian settlements were the predominant populations. In the 20th century, the West Coast regions were a magnet for Asian populations. Mexican and Latin Americans began settlements into the southwestern regions because of land expansion opportunities.
The Industrial Revolution of the latter 19th century into the early 20th century brought opportunity and large population growth to the urbanized areas of the East Coast. Europeans from all regions settled in neighborhoods and brought laborers to factories and mills. Large pockets of Irish could be found in New York City, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. The Italians took up residence in their own established neighborhoods within these cities, providing labor in stone masonry and factory work. French Canadians migrated into New England to work in the cotton mills. Drawn by fishing opportunities, immigrants from Portugal settled in the northeast coastal regions. Pockets of German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania and developed a thriving agricultural economy.
Due to enslavement in the 17th and 18th centuries, a large population of blacks arrived and remained in the southern regions of the United States. While many arrived directly from Africa, the majority arrived from settlements in the Caribbean Basin. By 1790, 20 percent of the U.S. population had its origins in Africa.